Kiss the Rain
by MaidenStar
Summary: The Yule Ball really does come around quickly and Nymphadora Tonks has left date-hunting and dress inspection a little late. Her not-so-tiny crush isn't helping matters either. Do things really work out alright in the end or is she set for disaster?
1. Part I

**A/N: Hello there, thanks for dropping by =). This fic is completely AU: for example, the Triwizard Tournament never ended after one year and Tonks was at school during the Marauders' era. I don't usually go in for the whole 'Remus and Tonks at school together' thing but this was a plot idea that just would NOT leave me alone. You probably won't catch me writing anymore fics set in this AU because it's not my normal thing, but please review and let me know what you think anyway =) I'm not sure about the title's relevance, but it's named after a beautiful piano piece by Yiruma which I was listening to at the whilst writing; it's really worth checking out – his piano pieces are so inspirational. **

**Also, I'm hoping the ebb and flow is okay but please bear in mind that this was born as a oneshot and, upon creation, got out of hand and has now been split into 6 chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I'm unfortunately not J.K. Rowling and seeing as anything recognizable from the HP world belongs to her, I make nothing from writing this fanfiction.**

***

_Part I_

There was no denying the buzz that was present within the Hogwarts castle. The teachers usually braced themselves for an onslaught of troublemaking mixed in with the usual coughs, colds and flu outbreaks during the Christmas build-up but with the Yule Ball not three weeks away the caretaker, Argus Filch, was simply inundated with teachers both harsh and kind alike begging him to give a group of students a detention or two in the Forbidden Forest. On the other hand, at least the Triwizard Tournament was going well and no one had been hurt. At least, not yet. Ever since the Department of Magical Games and Sports had implemented new, safer rules there was less to worry about and Professor Dumbledore had been less reluctant to host the Tournament at Hogwarts.

From the moment the Tournament had been announced on the first day of term, to the evening the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had arrived and not relenting even after the Champions had been chosen, there had been a flurry of students – mainly girls – worrying about who to ask to the Ball (or who would ask them), what to wear and how to dance. Nymphadora Tonks had _not_ been among those students right at the start of the school year. All that girly business didn't suit her at all, what was the point of worrying anyway? The parents had known about the Tournament being drawn to be held at Hogwarts anyway; the dress robes had already been purchased, what could there possibly be to worry about?

But one Sunday morning right at the start of winter she had actually unearthed her _own _dress robes only to find that they were, in her own words, repulsive. Recently, her mind had actually stalled enough to worry about not yet having a date but now, any person who actually did want to ask her to go with them wouldn't want to be seen dead with her in the canary yellow monstrosity currently screwed at the bottom of her trunk. The moment she had seen the dress robes she had left her Hufflepuff dormitory immediately, to save herself from tearing them up. She knew she had somewhere to be anyway and didn't want to be true to her usual form and turn up late. Teasing would only ensue.

She stuffed her hands gloomily into her pockets and trudged along the chilly entrance corridor, not bothering to watch where she was going; the doors only a few minutes away. Trust her cousin to choose to meet up with her today of all days – she had a _lot_ of OWL related homework to be getting on with. Sirius hadn't been lying when he told her – in a gleefully sadistic tone – that the fifth year was a nightmare. It was also typical Sirius to want to meet at the edge of the Forbidden Forest; somewhere she had to sneak to and hope she didn't get caught. Professor Sprout told her off enough times per week as it was. No wonder she wasn't a prefect; much to her parents' disappointment.

She slipped and slid slightly on her journey past the greenhouses she and the rest of the Hufflepuffs were so familiar with. The ground beneath her feet was pre-snow slush; the earth softened by weeks of heavy rain and frost. She knew she had the right place when she began making her way through the trees and heard voices – it sounded as though, for once, all were contributing to the conversation equally; usually only Sirius Black and James Potter could be heard. She found them all sitting in a huddle and for the first time the forest seemed a good idea as the ground had been more sheltered these past weeks, so was therefore harder and drier than anywhere else and the biting wind did not quite penetrate as harshly thanks to the hardy tree trunks around them.

"Hey cuz!" Sirius called, standing as he saw her and pulled her into a rough bear-hug. Tonks managed to give out a strangled reply, happy as usual to put up with being called 'cuz' if it meant she wasn't called Nymphadora. "Come and sit with us, I feel as if we haven't spoken in ages!" Sirius said happily.

"That's because it _has_ been ages," Tonks replied, "I haven't seen you all properly since the summer." She followed him over to where they were huddled and took in Sirius' friends all wrapped up in their Gryffindor scarves; she was fortunate enough to get along well with all of them, even Peter despite how trying he was at times. James looked up from an object which he appeared to be deeply interested in long enough to say,

"Alright Tonks?" and watch her nod, before immersing himself once more. Peter on the other hand embraced her immediately and Tonks hugged him back awkwardly; there was something about him that just didn't seem right to her, least of all how out of place he was with the other three. Both James and Sirius were dark haired and dark-eyed; Sirius' long and straight hair fell into his eyes with a great, seemingly unplanned, beauty. James' hair was significantly shorter and he had round glasses but they did nothing to mar his looks either. Remus Lupin...well Tonks didn't even want to get herself started on him _again_. Peter on the other hand, was short and plump and mousy and really just average.

She took her seat between Peter and Remus who was leaning against a tree, book in hand. He read silently, his golden eyes darting quickly from side to side, for a few minutes until Tonks presumed he finished his chapter. When he was done he closed the book delicately and graced her with one of his trademark smiles.

"Hello Nympha – I mean, Tonks, how are you?"

"Wotcher, I'm fine thanks, and you?" she replied almost nervously, if a little irked that he couldn't call her Tonks like the others. Of the whole group Remus Lupin was the one who made her stomach knot slightly. Partly because of all the 'Marauders' or whatever it was they called themselves these days, Remus was the one she knew the least about and his clipped, closed exterior only made him more of mystery, a conundrum. Not that Tonks thought there was anything overly wrong with his exterior; she'd failed to notice anything wrong with _that_ and she most definitely had looked.

"Very good, thank you," he answered, although Tonks had forgotten she had asked him a question.

There was a silence for a moment before Tonks remembered she had interrupted something.

"What were you all talking about before? I didn't mean to butt in,"

"Oh nothing exciting; just the Champions," it was Sirius who replied. This was not at all surprising; the Triwizard Champions had been the topic of much conversation recently. There had been only one challenge so far and they all appeared to be evenly matched. This year's Hogwarts champion happened to be a Slytherin named Rodolphus Lestrange; much to the disappointment of the students in the other Hogwarts houses, although mostly the Gryffindors. He was competing against Célestine Aucoin of Beauxbatons and Josef Heskin of Durmstrang and there had been great speculation as to not only who would win but also, more cosmetically, on who they'd be attending the Ball with as, in-keeping with tradition, the three couples would open the dancing.

"So, who do you want to win then?" Tonks enquired brightly,

"The Beauxbatons girl for sure," Sirius replied without hesitation, which caused Remus to smirk noticeably.

"What...?" Tonks asked him, sure she had missed something, "I'd agree to be honest. I don't want a Slytherin to win; I don't care if they are representing us. Having a Durmstrang Champion would be just as bad; I mean, they're like Slytherins in my opinion. So by a process of elimination the only one left is Aucoin."

"Oh I definitely agree," Remus replied good-naturedly with a ghost of a smile flitting across his face.

"So why the grin before then?"

"It was just the way Sirius said 'the Beauxbatons girl'," he replied ambiguously,

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sirius cried immediately, jumping straight into defence mode – he was a little _too_ defensive and quick off the mark though, Tonks noticed.

"Oh come on, mate you're making it sound like you can't even remember her name!" James said, giving up with his mystery endeavour and joining in, "you haven't stopped harping on about her since they turned up and sat with the Ravenclaws, not that that's a surprise. They always do, so I'm told. It's been 'Célestine this' and 'Célestine that'," he paused and turned to Tonks, stage-whispering conspiratorially, "Sirius fancies her and he's asked to the Ball,"

"Ooh, have you really Sirius?" Tonks half cried, half squeaked in reply; excited for her cousin. In return he replied with a sort of non-committal grunt. "What did she say?" she continued unperturbed,

"Yeah," he muttered almost inaudibly. Still, James heard nonetheless and gave a sort of roar of delight, firstly clapping him across the back and secondly breaking into a fit of laughter.

"You're going to have to open the Ball, you do realise!" he exclaimed needlessly. It was clear from Sirius' face that this fact had failed to stray far from his mind.

"Yeah I know," Sirius replied moodily and ran his hand through his hair in an agitated motion. There was a pause in which the others struggled to hold in laughter and Sirius struggled equally to come up with a suitable retort. "Anyway, I don't see you three asking girls out, who d'you think you're going with James?"

"Going to try and make it up with Evans, aren't I?" he said gloomily, now taking his turn to look awkward. Tonks, who was mystified, waited and looked from face to face for clues.

"Oh, didn't you hear Tonks?" Sirius asked gleefully and she shook her head.

"James and Lily argued, nothing more, nothing less," Remus, who obviously sensed a situation that needed diffusing, replied sensitively and James looked gratefully in his direction.

"It's what they argued about that's the problem," Sirius chuckled, unperturbed. "Evans doesn't like Prongs here picking on Snivellus Snape, so when he does put the greasy-haired urchin in his rightful place, she gets upset. Prongs took it a step too far last week though," Sirius paused, which Tonks knew was all for dramatic effect.

"Fancy breaking it off just for someone like Snape," he finished with a bark-like laugh.

"Bloody Snivellus," James muttered darkly. "Hang on! I've just had a thought!" he cried, his head snapping up and his expression brightening. "Tonks, you're a girl!" he said and turned his attention to her.

"Oh thanks James!" she replied in mock-offence, "Yes I am, thanks for noticing."

"Well then you'll be able to help me! How should I make it up with Lily?" he asked a hint of desperation in his voice that Sirius did not fail to notice and he broke into a fresh bout of laughter. Glancing over she saw that Remus had gone back to his book and that Peter was amusing himself by...well actually, Tonks wasn't totally sure what Peter _was_ doing. Turning back to James she gave a world-weary sigh and began listing ways in which girls might like to be wooed into forgiveness although she was fully aware that it was likely that Lily had forgiven James anyway, it was no secret that Snape was going round calling her a Mudblood again. Nonetheless, she deigned to secrete this last titbit of information from James; there were some secrets that would stay with female-kind forever.

Once she had imparted some well-needed female wisdom she asked James what he was doing. He replied with a totally inaudible mumble.

"Sorry, I didn't hear that," she said politely but was rewarded with that same mumble.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, we all know what he's doing; he's trying to fix Evans' camera in a vain attempt to win her over," Sirius cried after the 'I beg your pardon' followed by a mumble sequence had repeated itself three times.

"Well it can't hurt can it?" James countered, looking wounded,

"No, it can't," Remus answered with a note of finality that indicated the bickering should stop there and then and that it did, the five sat in silence for a brief moment.

"Well done, Remus," Peter said with admiration in his voice,

"I fear it would have turned into something more serious the longer it went on," he replied absently, reading what appeared to be a few more lines and then closed his book.

"What is that, anyway?" Tonks asked, more as a way to inject conversation than anything else.

"Oh, nothing overly interesting just something to help the NEWT revision for Transfiguration,"

"Not that he needs it..."Sirius began,

"...little swot," James finished and Remus raised his eyebrows in an expression of delicate disdain.

"So Tonks," Sirius began, turning his attention to his cousin – a mischievous grin on his face. "Who's _your_ date for the Yule Ball?"

"Oh I don't have one yet," she said as casually as possible, but feared the tilt of her chin had well and truly belied her.

"You don't have one yet?" Sirius exclaimed, "Blimey! Come on, get a move on Tonks, or all the good ones will be gone. If they're not all gone by now that is," he concluded, his eyes widened in what appeared to be genuine concern.

"Calm down Padfoot, she'll get a date alright," James replied confidently in a muffled voice because of the way his chin pressed into his chest as he stared back at the camera in his lap. "Oh bollocks!" he proclaimed a moment later after he'd prodded it with his wand and a stream of yellow smoke (not dissimilar from the colour of her own Ball robes) shot back at him, "that's just made it worse!" This caused Sirius to indulge in a bark of laughter before returning to Tonks.

"Yeah, I s'pose cuz," he said, paused and continued, "and if not you can always go with Peter can't you?" there was a scatter of laughter, to which Tonks forced herself to contribute. That would _not_ be happening.

"I don't hear Remus getting involved in this date conversation," Peter bit back, face tight and cheeks red. Was that because he knew that, essentially, Sirius was poking fun at him again, or did he think of Tonks as a potential date in the same light she thought of him? Tonks prayed to God and even to Merlin that it was the former.

"Too true, mon ami," Sirius replied gleefully, "so Remus, care to involve yourself?"

"No," came the light, playful reply,

"And why not?"

"You know full well why not," the tone had changed to one of both anger and embarrassment. Tonks got the impression that this was a topic Remus had asked not to get involved in and Sirius was not respecting his choice.

"Do we?" Sirius asked, looking around at the others with his eyebrows raised, for dramatic effect, "I don't think that's true at all,"

"Because I do not yet have a date, Sirius,"

"Sorry Moony, what did you just say to me?"

"You heard, Sirius,"

"Nope, not sure I did,"

"Oh Sirius, don't be so bloody immature," Tonks cried, beginning to enjoy her meeting with her cousin less and less by the minute. She was quite glad she had played the immaturity card; it was the one most likely to throw a seventeen year old boy off course.

This cut off the conversation abruptly, with no reply from Sirius and a grateful nod and smile from Remus that, to her utter irritation, caused her stomach to erupt into butterflies.

She chatted awhile longer with the four about OWLs and NEWTs but made her leave just before lunchtime because of the amount of homework she had waiting for her.

"It's been nice talking with you all," she said as she stood up.

"Yeah definitely, we'll have to do this more often Tonks," Sirius said brightly (he had forgiven her) and with his usual enthusiasm before giving her another bear-hug. This time, even James was enthusiastic (or maybe grateful) enough to hug her goodbye and as soon as she had quickly said goodbye to Peter she turned to say the same to Remus who hugged her too, although she felt it was an awkward gesture that may have been more out of duty than anything else, considering how shy he seemed around others.

Just as she was departing she heard a bang and saw a great deal of black smoke: this time, the camera had exploded. She just heard Remus say,

"Oh, look do you want me to help?" exasperatedly and detect James' small squeak of reply.

She turned to wave and met Remus' gaze. When she looked into his eyes to tell him she'd 'see him soon' that she felt her heart give that funny sort of jolt. His liquid gold irises possessed such a delicate charm and it was something she had taken great delight in noticing before.

It was a well known Hogwarts fact that the 'three' Marauders – for Peter was not generally classed among them on the looks scale – were like celebrities and were all worth a spare glance over your shoulder when they passed by: two glances of Sirius Black, James Potter and Remus Lupin were _always_ better than one. In the precise moment he opened his mouth to say 'goodbye' the all but extinguished flame Nymphadora Tonks had once held for Remus burst fully into life once more. New crushes at times when dates for dances had to be hurriedly found were not always a good thing.

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**A/N: Thanks so sooo much for reading. Reviews actually brighten my day (I know that's a bit sad but they really do) so please click that little button down there and make me smile =) I'll try and update every day or two days, depending on my workload. **


	2. Part II

**A/N: Okay, here's Part II, thanks to everyone who's been reading so far and I hope you all enjoy this slightly shorter update =)**

Disclaimer: Anything recognizable from the HP world belongs to J.K. Rowling and not me, just like everyone else who uses this site!

_Part II_

Tonks was sat at the long Hufflepuff table one hand gripping a piece of buttery toast, which was always something to look forward to in the morning – the House Elves charmed the toast to make sure it was always hot and never soggy – and the other hand was balled into a fist and was rubbing her bleary eyes. She had a harsh morning of lessons ahead of her.

It was now _one_ week until the Yule Ball, winter had fully set in and Tonks still had neither date nor altered dress robes for the big event. She hadn't been brave enough to face the clothes again, let alone try and change the colour of them. The blind panic had really only set in a day or two, but set in firmly it had and she intended to spend her first two lessons – Charms and History of Magic – discussing by any means possible who was going to the Ball with who and, more importantly, who in her year was still free and single.

By the time the fifth-year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors burst out of History of Magic, leaving an oblivious Professor Binns to keep mumbling his way through various Goblin Rebellions and totally uninteresting Mermish Rights Conferences, Tonks had discovered all the information she could bear to hear (it was unbelievable how even the most undesirable boys in the year managed to secure dates) she intended to use the information to decide who she would ask out. The very thought of it was making her nervous. It wasn't as though she'd never had a boyfriend before or that she was scared to do the asking, when she had been in those situations it had been with someone she knew well, so she didn't look stupid. No – the problem was her crush on Remus Lupin.

She was slightly angry at her own feelings really – she thought this problem had all but subsided. She'd spent the best part of her fourth year wrapped up in her infatuation with him and had trailed after Sirius and his friends whenever possible, although that was not often and he hadn't minded; Tonks' mother had always been his favourite aunt. Never once had Remus responded, be it positively or negatively, to her obvious hints, so gradually her mind and heart had given up on him. And yet, not a fortnight ago, when he had looked her so straight in the eye and had hugged her so tightly her heart had gone into meltdown again, at the very first hint of physical contact.

Sadly for her though, her brain was the _only_ thing that was melting – the snow beneath her feet was very real and solid – packed hard and treacherous and many patches were so trodden they'd compressed into ice; a nightmare for the clumsy. She and two of her friends clung together under an all for one sentiment as they and many fellow Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws battled their way to Herbology, knowing that it wouldn't be all that long before they had to battle back again, although with the enticing thought of a warm lunch as incentive.

***

It had become clear to Tonks that the only reason she had survived the first pilgrimage _to_ the greenhouse was that she was clinging to someone else. Now though, because she had been held back for talking (about the Yule Ball, of course, and how she had resolved to ask a certain boy in her house to go with her, the moment she got back to the Great Hall) she had to get back the Castle on her own and as she slipped in every direction she knew she wouldn't make it without falling flat on her face. She kept traipsing forward as best she could but inevitably, the time came. Her foot caught a rock poking slightly out of the snow and she toppled forward. She squeezed her eyes shut as if she were trying morph and braced herself for an impact that was sure to put her in Madam Pomfrey's wing for lunch – she had to be her most frequent visitor; she was in the Hospital Wing at least once a month. However, the pain of the fall did not come and neither did the fall itself.

"Woah! Careful!" a voice cried and two hands clamped beneath her arms, holding her steady for a moment before lifting her to her feet again.

"Thanks," she said whipping around as quickly as possible, her cheeks a shade of red that was way beyond morphing away. This problem was made worse when she found herself face to face with none other than Remus Lupin. "Oh Merlin," she whispered to herself, now so embarrassed in the way that only humiliation in front of the one you've been dreaming of snogging not ten minutes ago can make you. She no longer knew what to say and just stood there lamely. "Thanks," she repeated again only this time with the added affect of stuttering, her stomach feeling as if someone had transfigured it into a mass of writhing eels. Or maybe something nicer like a cluster of butterflies.

"It's no problem," he said with a smile that antagonised those cliché animals she hated so much. "Come on, let's get inside; it's freezing," he continued and grabbed her elbow when her first two steps threatened to end in disaster.

"Don't, I'll only end up pulling you down with me," she muttered darkly and tried to wriggle her arm away. He merely chuckled and tightened his grip.

"It's no trouble, I'll be fine," he murmured as they made their way closer and closer to the two enormous oak doors which had been firmly shut, to keep the cold out.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" she enquired, hoping to sound less rude and ungrateful than the last time she had spoken.

"Actually I was hoping to catch up with you and ask you a quick question; something I meant to ask the other week when we all met up," he said, with an obvious struggle to keep his voice level.

"Oh, really?" was all she could manage to ask by way of reply, her heartbeat quickening a pace or two as the place where he touched her felt like it was burning, despite the material of her cloak and wool of his gloves acting as barriers between their skin.

"Yes...um...I was just..." he started, but broke off at the harsh sound of the doors bursting open as a group of third year Gryffindors trudged out, looking grim at the prospect of the harsh trudge to either a chilling Herbology, or worse, frozen Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

Stepping inside the warmth engulfed her like a glove and Remus turned back to her – finally releasing her elbow now he deemed it safe.

"Yes, anyway, I was just wondering if you haven't already had a much better offer – which I expect you probably have..." he trailed off for a moment, fiddling with a pull in his red and gold scarf, "well, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Yule Ball with me?" he finally finished softly, his nervousness evident on his face, and when Tonks – who was completely taken aback – paused for a moment, his face fell and he began to speak.

"Remus, I'd love to go to the Ball with you!" she said loudly as she cut across him.

"Really?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face, "no buts?" he questioned nervously,

"No, definitely no buts, absolutely not!"

"Well, that's great! Thank-y..." he began but was cut off as Sirius and James burst out of the Great Hall, Peter hurrying along behind them,

"Ah, Moony, there you are!" Sirius said briskly, "come on," he demanded grabbing hold of Remus' cloak, "we need to talk to you; business to attend to!" he continued and bodily dragged a protesting Remus away.

"I'll meet you outside the Hall next week!" Tonks called after him happily, making a conscious effort not to skip into lunch screaming and flailing her limbs, she was so elated; things couldn't have turned out better.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please make my day and leave a comment! Also a massive thanks goes to 'adamjamjar', 'Jokegirl', 'MAD4moony7', 'Lira-leigh54', 'Angel-of-vampires', 'gchiki lupin' and 'Name isn't Arria' for reviewing _Part I_, I love reading reviews, they all make me smile =)**


	3. Part III

**Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing so far, it means a lot =) It's finally the day of the Ball, so I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I'm unfortunately not J.K. Rowling and seeing as anything recognizable from the HP world belongs to her, I make nothing from writing this fanfiction.**

_Part III_

"Right everyone, well done for today's lesson," Professor McGonagall called, trying to make herself heard over the cacophony of squawking that was coming from the numerous ravens perched on the desks. The fifth year Hufflepuffs, who had Transfiguration with the Gryffindors, had spent the lesson trying to turn the massive and slightly vicious, beady-eyed creatures into birds of paradise, although the nervous energy they all possessed for the Ball that evening was causing them all to either over or under concentrate the spells so that many hybrid birds ranging from still black ravens with brightly coloured, over enlarged bills to technicolour creatures of various sizes with plumages so multicoloured they could make Tonks' favoured hair shades monotone.

Nonetheless, McGonagall seemed pleased that they had at least made an effort; content in the knowledge that they'd do better after the Christmas break. With a simple, unaffected wave of her wand she returned all the birds to their original states and proceeded to put them all in cages with silencing charms around them.

"Now, please don't forget to read your assigned texts and complete the pre-set essay over the Christmas holidays," she warned and allotted the compulsory pause for the standard moans and groans, before continuing. "And I expect you all on to be your best behaviour this evening, don't forget you must be seated by half past six at the latest," she said in her sternest tone, but the effect was somewhat lost when, with a small smile she said, "and make sure you have fun tonight. My Gryffindors especially, ensure your dancing is up to scratch, I want to see a vast improvement on last competition's dancing; Professor Slughorn's Slytherins put the Gryffindors to shame and I wouldn't laugh Mr. Jones; the Hufflepuffs weren't much better!"

With that, they were dismissed and there was a sort of frenzy as they passed other students hurrying to their common rooms, watching and laughing slightly as many third years antagonised the year groups below them as they were made up of students who weren't yet old enough to go to the Ball and had to finish their day's lessons.

Tonks and the four girls she shared the Hufflepuff dormitory with bade their other friends goodbye and good luck in getting ready before making their way hurriedly towards the kitchens, giving the correct portrait the password – mulled wine – to get into Hufflepuff basement. They passed the numerous, mismatched armchairs that were notoriously fat and comfy and ducked past the yellow hangings that resembled the colour of the dress robes waiting for Tonks in her dormitory, which caused her to wander if that had been her mother's motivation in buying them in the first place. It wouldn't surprise her – she was the kind of mother to think her daughter would want to wear a dress that reflected her house colour.

Once safely inside they began performing general ablutions with as much modesty as having to adjoining bathrooms allowed and their progress would often be animated with various comments or snippets of conversation that included,

"I can't find my moisturiser!" or

"Who had my hairbrush last?" but by far the most common conversation, spoken by everyone at least once throughout the afternoon was,

"What time did McGonagall say we had to be seated by?"

"Half past six,"

"And what time is it now?" Every time this answer had been given and the later the time became the more they panicked but when someone finally replied,

"Half past five," the room was filled with cries of horror. The only person who was ready was Adrastia Smith whose mother, Hepzibah, had quite clearly been able to afford the very best and the sight of blonde haired, blue eyed Adrastia in her teal coloured, lacy robes made Tonks dread fishing her clothes out of her trunk. Nonetheless, she began wrestling them out, her whole body hidden by the hinged lid of the case. When she finally straightened up with an armful of silk, someone else had changed and was nervously surveying themselves in the mirror. Muggle-born Chrissie Michener was now dressed in flowing midnight-blue robes that complemented her pale skin and green eyes.

As nervously as if she was wearing them she straightened up with her garish, gaudy robes and Justine Fletchley let out a small laugh,

"Unlucky, Tonks! I didn't believe you when you said they were that bad, I thought you were exaggerating; how come you didn't go with your mum to buy them?"

"I don't know!" came the sullen reply, "I just ran out of time and trusted mum to buy some nice clothes!"

"To be fair, this is the woman that called you Nymphadora; what were you thinking?" pointed out copper haired Olga Beletsky, who was born in Russia and had a strong accent which made the name 'Nymphadora' sound even more ridiculous. She herself was untying a package of indigo cotton, ready to get changed.

"True," Tonks conceded, "well is anyone here good at ironing and colouring charms?"

"Aren't you good at colouring charms Tonks?" Chrissie asked,

"Yeah but I'm way too nervous about these robes to do it myself," she lied unconvincingly; she _was _nervous, but not so much about her robes as about her date.

"I'll do the ironing charm and Olga can change the colour, I'm sure," Chrissie continued and Olga nodded. Tonks handed the robes over saying,

"I'd quite like blue if that's okay," to Olga before turning away to distract herself and watched Justine lamenting over her own outfit,

"Oh how stupid to choose white! They looked nice at the time but what if I spill something? They'll stain so easily!"

"Try an anti-staining charm; they're pretty standard," Tonks suggested,

"No, I just did and the people who made the robes made sure you couldn't cast one!" Justine replied, scandalised, "maybe I should colour mine too?"

"Well I doubt you can do that if you can't anti-stain them," Tonks said, slightly less worried now she wasn't the only one with clothing problems.

"Oh I'll just have to hope I don't spill anything!" she cried, throwing her hands into the air before heading off to change in privacy. As she left, Tonks still didn't want to watch her robes being changed in case it all went wrong and they ended up a shade or two worse, if that was even possible. Instead, she concentrated on changing her hair until she was happy with a style and then went on to apply 'morphed-makeup' which basically meant changing her skin until it looked like she had makeup on – it was definitely the quicker and easier method.

"Tonks, you know that's not fair don't you?" Adrastia – Addie – said as she waged war with an eye-shadow palette and kohl eyeliner. Tonks laughed by way of reply but was cut off when she heard Olga's voice say,

"Ah. Well Tonks, it's certainly not blue...but it's not yellow either,"

"Oh Merlin, what's happened? Is it worse than before?"

"No! I don't think so. Well it's definitely an improvement if you like this colour," she said, turning round nervously and holding out Tonks' dress robes which were now a shade of..._green_.

"To be honest I think the colour was so violent my _azura_ charm didn't stand a chance; I hope you like green," she said with a guilty look on her face as she handed over the silk robes.

Tonks looked them over once for patches of yellow but in truth; they were perfect. Olga was right, it had been just like mixing paint together and with a happy smile and genuine 'thanks Olga!' she went off to change, reappearing quickly, just as the clock hit six.

The four girls walked as quickly to the Great Hall as was possible in their heeled shoes, all discussing their dates. Tonks kept checking her appearance nervously in a small pocket mirror; her trademark dark eyes were surrounded by bronze make-up and her heart-shaped face was framed with mahogany coloured corkscrew curls that just grazed the top of her shoulders. Her dress robes, which consisted of a knee length dress which was now an emerald green colour with a black sash and a cloak-like shrug of a matching colour.

As the girls approached the Great Hall and the noise around them reached tumultuous they began to trickle off as Tonks' friends met up with their dates. Glancing to her side Tonks saw the three champions talking to McGonagall, their dates standing nervously beside them. Beside Célestine Aucoin stood Sirius who was shifting moodily from foot to foot, his stone grey dress robes looking new and mercifully clean. His long hair was swept back and his dark eyes – the family trademark Tonks was so familiar with – flicked from side to side as he tried to focus on the people passing by. A moment later Tonks worked out why he looked so sullen; it appeared to have little to do with opening the dance and more to do with the person standing beside him. The Hogwarts champion Rodolphus Lestrange of Slytherin's date was none other than Bellatrix Black, yet another of Sirius and Tonks' limitless cousins. The two notoriously hated each other – Sirius was the only person Bellatrix and her sister hated more than Tonks and her mother, who had married a Muggle-born and disgraced the family name.

She gave him a brief, bracing smile before she moved on; pushed forward by the crowd, Tonks did not glimpse who the Durmstrang champion would be dancing with, but it was likely it would be a Beauxbatons student.

"Who did you say you were going with again?" Olga, who still hadn't found her own date, shouted to Tonks,

"I didn't," Tonks replied, too preoccupied in locating Remus.

"Why the big secret?"

"No one ever asked," she replied, having located James and his date. Apparently he and Lily Evans had made up and weren't wasting any time, already furiously lip-locked. This last little detail stopped Tonks going over to them as she would have been tempted to ask them where Remus was under other circumstances.

"Well I'm asking now," Olga replied now impatient at both Tonks and her inability to locate her own date. She and Tonks were now the only two left.

"Remus Lupin," she replied somewhat shyly, feeling she would be in a 'is he really going out with her situation'. "What about you? You probably told me but I can't remember now," she said in an attempt to distract Olga.

"Lupin?" Olga replied, now forced to shout over the excited noise. Teachers were shouting themselves;, trying to get people seated as quickly as possible and a few could even be seen shepherding away large groups of first and second years that had come down to watch the people go inside. "Isn't he a Marauder; friends with James Potter and Sirius Black?"

"Yeah he is,"

"Oh I bet you know him through your cousin!" Olga said, obviously more preoccupied with how Tonks met Remus and unperturbed by what others may have seen as an unlikely pairing.

"Yeah," she said, "come on; answer my question now, who's your date?"

"Bill Weasley!" she said breathlessly and then pointed and exclaimed, "There he is!" and Tonks spied the 'better-looking' Weasley brother who was looking around for Olga just as frantically as she had been looking for him. "Good luck finding your Marauder, have fun!" she said, hugging Tonks before joining Bill.

"You too!" she said, just on the verge of panicking that Remus had had a better offer until she finally saw him as the crowd thinned. He had his back turned but it was unmistakeably him.

"Remus!" she called as she reached him and he turned around quickly,

"Oh, there you are," he smiled, "I thought you'd had a better offer!"

"No, of course not," she replied, rather taken aback at how their thoughts had paralleled. He was in a set of simple black dress robes, with a few subtle red trimmings here and there. They were nothing special but she thought he looked great.

"You look amazing, Tonks," Remus said as he took her arm and they walked into the Great Hall, towards a nearby table and for the first time, she didn't disbelieve what she'd been told.

"Thank-you," she said, both aware and irritated that she was blushing. Why could she morph everything but a blush?! He pulled out a chair for her and she thanked him. He sat down and faced her, opening his mouth to speak just as Dumbledore called for silence.

"Later," he whispered and turned his attention to the headmaster.

"Welcome one and all to the Triwizard Competition Yule Ball, it's wonderful to see you all looking so smart," he said, his blue eyes twinkling, "soon the Ball will begin and you will all be able to take to the floor and dance. But, in the meantime, I expect you are all hungry. There are menus on every table, simply place your order. Now, I do not want to delay the proceedings any more so all that remains is for me to say on behalf of all members of staff from all three schools: enjoy yourselves!" he sat down again and there was a small bout of appreciative applause as the Hall began to fill with cries of different types of food.

Although it was a cliché, Tonks chose the least messy food; it just seemed the safest option and the one least fraught with embarrassment.

"So," she began, feeling awkward. "What were you going to say before?" she tried, desperate to make conversation.

"Oh," he said and paused, fork caught between his lips whilst he thought. "Oh, of course!" he declared when he remembered. "Nothing overly exciting I'm afraid, I just wanted to apologise for not being brave enough to ask you to the Ball when the five of us met up for the first time in the term. I mean, it was just because Sirius was there and he was bound to make a joke or twelve and put me off, you know?" he asked, never breaking eye contact while he spoke.

"Oh! Don't worry about that!" she exclaimed, relieved that he had said something she could reply to. "I mean, I like Sirius; he's my cousin after all, but he can be a right git sometimes,"

"Sometimes?" he enquired in a commendable tone of mock-confusion, a playful twinkle in his eye.

"Well, most of the time," she answered and they both laughed.

Not an hour later, Tonks found herself wondering why she had even let the concern that things would be awkward cross her mind. Remus was so easy to talk to and, whilst they talked about nothing in particular Tonks found that when she spoke, Remus seemed to find her genuinely interesting and always looked fascinated, as if truly wanted to listen.

A short while later, Professor McGonagall had called for silence and indicated that the small orchestra they had hired should begin to play. The itinerary went that they would cater for all: the first half of the Ball would be taken up by classical music for traditional dancing whilst the other would be filled with the music of a popular wizarding band, whose identity had, as yet, remained a secret.

The three Champions and their dates began to dance and even Tonks had to admit that Sirius and Célestine stole the show. Sirius looked dashing; Tonks allowed herself to acknowledge his good looks just this once (usually she ignored Sirius' handsomeness because they were related). He had managed laudably in the dancing stakes and soon couples began to join them on the dance floor.

"Would you like to dance, Nymphadora?" Remus asked graciously and Tonks had been dreading the question so much she didn't even react to the use of her given name.

"I...er...well," she began uselessly, terrified that her clumsiness would show them up and end up embarrassing him; things were going so well that she didn't want to risk anything. She saw his face fall – it was so typically Remus to jump to a conclusion that reflected negatively on him – he seemed to think she didn't want to dance with _him_.

"It's just that I'm a bit of a liability; well you saw the other day that I'm a law onto myself when I couldn't even walk up to the school from the greenhouse," she explained hastily. His face brightened a bit.

"Well there _are_ a lot of hazards in here," he said seriously, "what with all the people dancing around. But, all in all, I'm pretty sure that the fact there was snow outside made a substantial difference," he said a lot more playfully. "And as, unless I'm very much mistaken, there is _no_ snow in here and when we were outside I also seem to remember holding you up. Overall, I think the odds are with us, if you're willing to give it a try," he concluded, his long fingers stroking his jaw in an attempt at a pensive motion. She bit her lip and considered everything.

"That's all very true, but I'm just so worried that I'll fall over and embarrass you!"

"Do you trust me?" he asked seriously and she knew the sincere answer.

"Of course I do, completely and utterly," she replied.

"Well then, let's go!" he said impulsively and stood up, offering her hand. She took it after a second's hesitation. If he had managed to catch her as her nose was about to hit the ground, it was probable he could drag her round the dance floor for a few songs.

"Just don't say I didn't warn you," she laughed breathlessly, "I'm a horrible dancer,"

"Maybe because I'm a passable dancer we'll cancel each other out and become forgettable, average and, dare I say it, maybe even dull," he suggested with a wicked grin that seemed to betray that he thought otherwise. They reached the dance floor a little too soon for Tonks' liking but it was getting busier and had achieved a happy medium between there-are-too-many-people-and-you're-going-to-crash-into-everyone and there-aren't-enough-people-to-hide-you-if-you-fall-over-and-make-a-show-of-yourself. There would be enough coverage to disguise any noticeable blunders and this made her a little more confident. His usual coy, private demeanour seemed to have evaporated as he firmly took her hand in one of his and splayed his other across her waist and she knew enough to place her free hand on his shoulder.

"Ready?" he whispered and she nodded breathlessly. He slowly nudged her feet with his and began to direct her around the floor; the firm hand on her waist guiding her direction. Occasionally he gently spun her round and she felt her heart spin with her, only it felt different as if it was on its own axis or had an orbit all of its own fancy. As predicted, he had been lying when he said he was a passable dancer; he was an exceptional dancer, of course. The piece in the background was a simple piano solo with a peaceful, lilting tune; gradually rising and falling both tempo and volume with peaceful crotchets blending seamlessly into quaver sequences. He whispered a soft, hushed request for permission to go faster and her head shuddered a muddled refusal.

"I might fall," she whispered back, her eyes widening. She didn't want to ruin the moment. Dancing with him was the most romantic thing that she had ever been a part of. She just _couldn't_ mess it up.

The piece rose and crisp notes fluttered by as if on fine muslin wings and as the crescendo approached she could feel he didn't want to miss the moment. The knowledge made her heady and exhilarated and her thoughts pooled together, one crashing into the next so she couldn't determine where one started and another finished.

"Stand on my feet, I won't let you fall," he promised, still in a whisper and she ached with believing. She felt herself rise a mere inch or two but the height increase made her feel giddy. She felt his long fingers flex and readjust themselves and heard him take a breath. He began twirling round again; quicker this time. Had she been able to collect her thoughts she would have perhaps deigned to consider how he seemed so good at this. But, as it was, it was all she could do to not give into the temptation to squeeze her eyes shut. The colours of the hall merged together, ball gowns became fabric rainbows and, most vivid of all, the light from the numerous candle flames transformed from dots into strokes of yellow that followed her eyes and joined to her retinas. The scene was a canvas and the artist had simply daubed paint of various colours onto it, in long, flowing lines.

At the last minute she closed her eyes, to focus not on the wider scene but on the two of them. It felt as if they would keep on spinning together even if , in that very instant, the world itself were to cease to and proceed to fall through space. She became acutely aware that the blood was pounding through her ears, her heart was beating like a drum and that he smelt of cocoa and summertime.

When the song came to a close not a few seconds later, he stopped spinning and led her to the nearest seats. She would have liked to have attributed her dizziness to the twirling, but she didn't want to lie.

The classical music had stopped awhile ago and although she had enjoyed dancing formally with him, dancing to wizarding rock band fell a lot more into her comfort zone. But still she would stumble here and there but, when she did it in front of Remus she appreciated the fact that he pretended not to notice. Soon, she found that she was much too hot to function, and hoped she wasn't too red; those red blushes and blotches on her cheeks were the things she couldn't use her Metamorphmagus powers on. Luckily, he seemed to read her mind,

"Would you like to step outside for a bit?" he asked graciously as always, "I can't help but notice that it's stifling in here!" she agreed wordlessly and he took her hand to lead her outside.

The air was crisp and soothed their burning skin quickly. He exhaled quietly and wisps of his breath floated around him.

"That's a lot better," he breathed.

"Mmhm," she mumbled in agreement.

They both took a seat on one of the makeshift stone benches. Whoever decorated the grounds, whether that be the teachers, some students, the house-elves; whoever, had really outdone themselves. The normally breathtaking snow-covered grounds were mostly masked because of the sheer amount of fairy lights strewn near the doors. Many snow-repelling, heated grey-granite benches had been spread out, each surrounded picturesquely with lattices which were covered in an assortment of plants and, of course, the aforementioned fairy lights. The effect was ever so slightly marred by the sheer quantity of light spilling from the two story Great Hall window.

"The night's almost over," Remus remarked wistfully and Tonks nodded, unsure of what else to say. "I...er...I hope you've enjoyed it okay," he murmured, nerves shaking him voice. Tonks tilted her head to look into his golden eyes and said,

"I loved every second, thank you Remus," he smiled toothily and began,

"I've had a great time too..." but broke off, looking puzzled.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"I don't know, it just doesn't feel right, calling you by your surname. I don't like calling you Tonks, I'd much prefer to call you Nymphadora," he answered and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "What? There's nothing wrong with the name?" he protested but held up his hands in defence when she shot him a glare. "Okay then, _I _don't think there's anything wrong with your name," he tried and she softened her expression. It didn't convince her any further than her mother's fifteen years of pulling her leg had, but it was nice to hear him say it; it was nice to know he wanted her to feel happy.

"Hmm, how about..." he started, but evidently had nothing to say, because he paused and cast his eyes skyward in thought. She followed his gaze and watched as his eyes shifted from side to side as he surveyed the constellations and puzzled over how they would always skim away from the moon, as if by a magnetic repulsion. Evidently, the moon held no interest for him.

"Dora...?" he finished and her heart gave a little skip. Her father called her that.

"My...my dad calls me that all the time," she muttered and watched as his eyes flew to hers.

"Oh, well in that case then...I guess it's special," he said accommodatingly and she got the impression nothing was ever too much trouble for him. She watched his eyes roved her face and she had a sneaking suspicion she knew what was coming next.

"I guess I could make an exception though," she remarked playfully and he grinned, his face swimming closer into her view as he lowered his head closer to kiss her softly on the lips.

She'd sensed it coming, but it felt glorious all the same.

A little while later and the Hufflepuff girls were all in bed, chattering excitedly. Tonks kept most of her evening to herself. That way, it felt like her special secret. Remus Lupin had kissed her and then told her he would contact her after Christmas.

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**A/N: Once again, thanks for reading, if you're enjoying this (or not and have some concric as the case may be) please take the time to leave a review and make my day =D Thanks to everyone who reviewed Part II: 'purplerawr', 'NIA - Name Isn't Arria', 'Merryb87', 'adamjamjar' and 'Angel-of-Vampires' your comments are great!**


	4. Part IV

**A/N: Thanks once again to everyone who's been reading this, I've only got two more parts to upload because, as I mentioned at the start, this was meant to be a oneshot, but it just got too long. I hope you enjoy, this is less fluffy though, sorry guys.**

**Disclaimer: I'm unfortunately not J.K. Rowling and seeing as anything recognizable from the HP world belongs to her, I make nothing from writing this fanfiction.**

_Part IV_

It was the first Friday morning back at school after the Christmas holidays and Tonks was sitting at the Hufflepuff table trying to eat her breakfast as her heavy eyes drooped shut; she was tired already, with her OWL exams dragging ever closer. As per usual a flurry of wings announced the daily arrival of the post and she was mildly surprised as a Hogwarts owl dropped a note neatly by her goblet of orange juice. She tore open the envelope and discovered that its contents was a small note from Remus inviting her to meet up with him in the school grounds after lunch tomorrow and, despite her heart thudding slightly in a not completely uncomfortable fashion, she accepted immediately, despite the fact that the coming weekend involved trip to Hogsmeade which everyone knew were generally never to be missed.

She was tightly wrapped up in a pair of Muggle jeans, a jumper her mum had knitted for her (which she had made sure was not visible thanks to her coat; her mother appreciated warmth and practicality more than fashion) as she took her first tentative step outside. Her Hufflepuff scarf and gloves were firmly on show and she sank onto one of the snow-repellent benches she had managed to reach but was already freezing and now wished wistfully that Remus had chosen a better place to meet up. She checked her watch but knew she was early; she had eaten her lunch very quickly despite the nervous squirming feeling in her stomach and the moment her plate was clean she had headed for the doors. The stunning snow-covered landscape seemed devoid of all life; all the plants and trees had been rendered invisible under the weight of the snow and anyone who hadn't gone to Hogsmeade was still inside the Great Hall. Everyone, that is, except the two girls laughing and chatting just out of sight.

"Look who it is!" exclaimed one of the voices, slightly closer than it had been a moment previously, "why if it isn't ickle cousin Nymphadora," the voice chanted mockingly and Tonks whirled around at the sound of her name. The unnecessary utterance, Tonks discovered, had come from her cousin Bellatrix Black who was closely followed by her sister, Narcissa. The two could not have been more appeared more different and it was hard to believe the two were even in the same family, let alone siblings. Narcissa was tall and willowy with flowing, straight, blonde hair. She was exceptionally pretty, even if she did possess slightly pinched features. By startling contrast dark, wavy haired Bellatrix had dark eyes that were surrounded by heavy lids and sharp, angular features. She too was tall but lacked the grace and femininity her sister possessed.

"What on earth would you be doing sitting outside all on your own on a freezing cold day like this?" Narcissa asked in a tone of mock-concern. She did seem genuinely interested, but Tonks knew her cousin and this just meant that she sensed this encounter might be a good opportunity for gossip.

"I'm meeting someone," Tonks replied ambiguously; being deliberately cautious. Being around her cousins, which was a rare occurrence in itself, made her very nervous. They were the type of people who always seemed to being sharing some kind of private joke about you, right in front of your face. They never smiled at you kindly, the way cousins should; it was more of a sneer usually. Tonks couldn't quite put a finger on what her cousins made her feel but they were intimidating, that was for sure, and they could easily make you feel paranoid.

"And who would that be?" Bellatrix asked,

"A friend," Tonks answered vaguely, unsure of why she was so desperate to conceal Remus' identity.

"I saw you at the ball!" Narcissa said in an all too bright, sickly sweet tone as she decided she wanted to change the topic entirely. "You looked very nice," she said, but in a tone of voice that suggested she thought entirely otherwise and Tonks began to feel more than a little insecure.

"Thanks...er...I saw Bellatrix, I didn't see you though Narcissa, sorry."

"Well _I_ was with Lucius Malfoy, do you know him?" she asked importantly, titling her feminine chin.

"Yes, I think so. I think I've seen him around," she answered, although it was a lie. She had heard the name thrown around a lot, but never under favourable circumstances and she didn't think she could pick him out of a line of three men. She had a sneaky suspicion he was a seventh year with long blonde hair similar to Narcissa's and would undoubtedly be a pure-blood Slytherin.

"But who were _you_ were dancing with, Nymphadora, we both saw you from a distance but we just couldn't make it out," Bellatrix asked and smiled secretively at Narcissa.

"Oh, I was with, er, Remus Lupin," Tonks replied, sure her cousins were about to make some comment about him choosing her, when he and the rest of the Marauders could have had their pick of the whole school. But the comment never came. Instead her cousins did something much, much worse and a lot cleverer.

"Oh..." Narcissa said in a confused tone and looked pointedly at Bellatrix whose face fell quickly.

"What?" Tonks asked and they both sat down, one either side of her. Bellatrix put her arm around her.

"It's just..." Narcissa began, "oh it's nothing really," she said and let a silence hang in the icy air between them. Tonks felt her heart begin to thud slightly. Why were they doing this to her and, moreover, why hadn't Remus turned up yet?

"Well, you might as well just tell me now," she said, not in the mood for games,

"It's just that, well, Narcissa and he had a bit of a thing in the fifth year," Bellatrix offered and, after a carefully weighted pause said, "but that was _ages_ ago, and I'm sure it's _pure coincidence_ that you're both cousins and that you're related to Sirius Black, don't you 'Cissy?" At this point Tonks' heart was beating too quickly for comfort, the piece of news pounding in her head; a kind of haunting echo.

"Oh yes...of course...that's...er..._absolutely _what I think," Narcissa said unconvincingly and it didn't escape Tonks' notice that it was deliberate. Her cousins were fairly conniving but they weren't really all that intelligent. They were obviously playing mind games with her. The thing was; they were starting to work. She tried to resolve to ignore anything more the duo said; she would talk with Remus about if she even bothered about it at all. The Black family was massive; of course some coincidence like this was perfectly plausible.

"But of course, as I said, it was ages ago anyway I'm sure he's totally over 'Cissy, even if they broke up a bit...suddenly," Bellatrix added, barely concealing the smile on her face at the sight of the expression Tonks was struggling to keep off her own.

"I think it was a very noble decision Nymphadora," Narcissa said seriously, her frosty blue eyes' holding Tonks'.

"What was? I didn't know anything about you two dating!" Tonks exclaimed, exasperated, intent on explaining that it didn't matter that Narcissa was Remus' ex-girlfriend.

"Oh...'Cissy I don't think she knows!" Bellatrix spoke again,

"Knows what, Bella?" Narcissa asked,

"The reason you two broke up, silly!" Bellatrix exclaimed in a hiss which was totally unnecessary. By now, the three were sitting so close together that the quietest whisper would still have been heard.

"Have you ever heard the rumours about the Marauders sneaking out of the castle every month?" Bellatrix asked.

"No, why would I have? They're just rumours," she replied, mystified.

"Oh, Nymphadora, that's so cute!" Narcissa replied with a patronising giggle. "You're so innocent; have you never heard the phrase there's no smoke without fire?"

"Oh of course she's heard that, 'Cissy, don't be mean to Nymphadora!" Bellatrix cut in and it was becoming clearer and clearer to Tonks that the two were subjecting her to a well rehearsed speech. This knowledge did not stop her heart racing and her mind faltering but it was stopping her from overreacting; her cousins could interfere as much as they liked – it wouldn't stop her being with Remus.

"Well, it's true of course," Bella continued,

"Of course," Tonks cut in sarcastically, but the effect was lost as Bellatrix ignored her and kept on speaking.

"And Lupin must have got a guilty conscience or something because one day he randomly decided to come clean with Narcissa. He finally decided to tell her the reason they all disappeared," she said, her voice becoming a conspiratorial whisper, pausing here and there for what Tonks assumed was dramatic effect.

"And why would that be?" Tonks asked, giving up on civility and sarcasm and just speaking curtly now, despite the fact that she could just sense it in the air that her cousins were telling the truth. Her cousins were taking so much pleasure in scaring her, she was beginning to anger. Had her mother not told her to make a conscious effort with her relatives she would have starting picking hexes by now. As it was, her wand hand was itching to take proceedings onto a less calm path.

"Well, he's a werewolf! He admitted it himself to Narcissa!"

"I left him straightaway of course. There was no _way_ I could date some half-breed like that. But Dumbledore somehow found out that we knew and made us keep it quiet."

"Once he'd assured us that he was perfectly safe of course. Otherwise, we couldn't have allowed all the students to be in such danger with a werewolf running about the place every full moon," Bella said importantly.

Nothing in Tonks' wildest dreams could have brought her to the conclusion her cousins had just presented to her. She just sat there, shell-shocked; silent. She would have been less surprised if her cousins had told her he was secretly a Kneazle.

"Oh, you can't tell me you honestly didn't know? I'd have thought he'd have told you by now!" Bellatrix asked innocently, "oh...stupid us!" she exclaimed clapping a hand to her forehead.

"I'm sure he was _intending _to tell you though," Narcissa whispered and patted a hand on Tonks' shoulder. "I can see we've shocked you, Nymphadora, we should probably go," she said

"Yeah, we'll leave you to your thoughts," Bella added, giving her what Tonks assumed was supposed to be a sympathetic grin and with that the two walked off together, leaving her to sit disbelieving and silent.

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**A/N: You guys know my mantra by now. I'm really grateful to you all for reading, please do leave a review as I know more people are reading than reviewing and I would love to hear a few new thoughts. Once again thanks to all the reviewers: 'adamjamjar', 'doralupin86', 'Angel-of-vampires', 'Merryb87', 'cinderella2122', 'purplerawr' and 'NIA - Name Isn't Arria' and a particular thanks to all those who review all the time.**


	5. Part V

**A/N: Alrighty then, this was originally going to be the last chapter but I have also written an epilogue which I will hopefully post tomorrow. Thanks as usual to everyone who has read the last four parts.**

**Just a quick note to say, I know Bella and Narcissa are, in canon, Andromeda's sisters and therefore Tonks' aunts but as this completely AU I've played around with the Black family to make this plot work. Also, I figured that would be okay seeing as I've already made Sirius Tonks' cousin when he's actually her second cousin. So, in short, in this AU Andromeda is aunt to Sirius, Regulus, Narcissa **_**and**_** Bella, instead of being their sister/cousin as in canon. That was basically just an answer to purplerawr's question in her review.**

**Disclaimer: I'm unfortunately not J.K. Rowling and seeing as anything recognizable from the HP world belongs to her, I make nothing from writing this fanfiction.**

_Part V_

Tonks wiped the back of her hand across her eyes as they were threatening to spill tears across her cheeks. She didn't know what to think. The only thing she did know was that, providing they were telling the truth, which, if she was honest, she thought they were. Sometimes it was a part of human nature to be able to sense when people were telling the truth. Her cousins had reason to lie: they were naturally nasty people, it was in their blood, but the thing that stuck out for Tonks was that there were so many other stories they could have come up with if they truly wanted to affect her. They could have easily said that Remus had said something to Sirius and they had overheard or that they knew he was being unfaithful or had already moved on. None of those actions seemed like a thing Remus would do, but they were the kind of things that toyed with a teenage girl's mind. But no, they had chosen to brand him a werewolf. She supposed that she was not as phased as most people would be, after all she was just a little more used to shapeshifting than most others and she still wanted to see him and talk to him about what had happened.

Surprisingly, the fact that Remus was supposedly a werewolf was not the only thing at the forefront of Tonks' mind. She also could not stop thinking about was that Remus had chosen Narcissa Black to date, which she knew was irrational because if he truly was a werewolf then that was inconsequential. But really, Remus Lupin and _Narcissa Black_? They may be cousins but they were totally different and Narcissa was all graceful long limbs, pretty blonde hair and fair features whereas Tonks was the opposite with her dark eyes and hair that, despite its length and varying colours, most certainly had never been white-blond, long and poker straight. Narcissa was quiet, lofty and refined whereas Tonks bounced around, tripping over her own feet and chattering away as if she didn't have a care in the world. What in the name of Merlin's beard would make Remus choose Narcissa Black, then her; Nymphadora Tonks? Would he, knowing that she was a Metamorphmagus, want her to suddenly change her appearance? Maybe even her personality?

And whilst she was on the topic of Remus she should really question why she was she sitting on a freezing cold bench waiting, when he quite clearly was _not_ going to turn up? Suddenly, she was angry at him without even being able to find a good reason for the emotion. Surely he had done nothing wrong. But he could have just told her anything he thought she might need to know instead of leaving her to the mercy of her cousins. And his having dated Narcissa Black and being a werewolf definitely acquired the status of information 'she might need to know'. Did he think she would run away screaming or something?

She stood up suddenly, but instead of heading back inside she began to walk towards the lake; suddenly, the icy air on her flaming cheeks felt comforting and soothing.

She kicked small clumps of snow childishly and thrust her hands deep into her pockets, her head titling down as she watched her feet making channels through the powdery snow. As she trailed a small part of the lake's particularly large perimeter and surveyed the huge sheets of ice drifting across its surface a quick movement just ahead of her caught her eye.

There, at the edge of the lake, barely a few feet away stood Remus Lupin. Of all the Hogwarts students Tonks could have met during her traipse, sod's law had to dictate that it would be him. She watched as he slowly bent down and reached one of his hands towards the water's edge and extended his fingertips to the mirror-like surface of the water, barely skimming them across its surface. Nonetheless it must have been freezing to the point of the pain and he flinched, but did not draw his hand away.

"Nymphadora," he said quietly, without looking up and she visibly jumped.

"Why didn't you come and find me?" she asked and her voice was unintentionally childlike and sulky.

"I did," he said simply and paused while he stood up, making a few scuffed steps forward by way of an approach. His fair-haired head was tilted downwards and he gazed at his feet.

"Funny that. 'Cause I didn't see you," she replied harshly and he flinched at the tone she had used, which had obviously been a lot colder than the water in the lake. He ran a dripping hand through his hair and strands of his fringe stuck together.

"Just as I walked up, I saw your cousins sitting beside you and Bellatrix was whispering in your ear. The moment I saw the look on her face I knew I'd lost any chance I could have had with you," he replied and the heaviness in his voice made Tonks feel quite guilty for snapping at him.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked nervously, well aware that she probably knew the answer anyway.

"Nymphadora, I know they told you. You don't have to stay here, you know. I only ask that you don't mention it to anyone who doesn't already know,"

"Look, if you think I care that you dated my cousin, then you're wrong because I don't," she said firmly, tilting her chin defiantly.

"Is...is that all they told you?" he asked suddenly, his head jerking upwards.

"Well, they told me something else but I'm pretty sure that was a lie," she said with a forced chuckle; both craving and dreading the conversation that was about to ensue.

"Nymphadora," he said, taking a deep breath, "this thing they said; it didn't happen to be that I'm a werewolf, did it?" he asked knowingly but bitterly and the look on her face must have said it all. "If it's any small consolation for you, I arranged this meeting today to tell you, I didn't want to feel like I was deceiving you," he had reverted to staring at his feet again and Tonks felt her mouth drop open.

"You mean it's true?" she choked out shocked to her core despite the fact she had expected it.

"Yeah," he whispered and she only heard him because she had spurned her numbed limbs into action and had approached so that they were standing a pace apart. It must have been an odd sight – the two of them standing facing foward, towards each other; both poker straight and motionless; Remus looking down and Tonks staring at the top of his head.

"When?" she whispered, unsure of why she cared. She was just trying to buy time. She wanted to think; to consider if, in the scheme of things, she really cared that he was a werewolf. Yes, it now meant that he was a great deal more dangerous than she had ever bothered to consider and yes, it explained a lot but it didn't change the person he was for the majority of the time. It didn't change the person she had fallen head over heels for on the night of the Yule Ball.

"When I was five," he replied, ashamed and she couldn't help but gasp.

"Five?" she echoed, totally unable to imagine what that must have been like. "Who on earth would do that to a five year old?" she asked rhetorically, but he answered anyway.

"Fenrir Greyback would. My father, a rather high-up but outspoken Daily Prophet reporter, said something that offended him, so he hurt him in the only way he knew how. He changed his son into a half-breed," he said, spitting the last word like it was poison and he could take it away.

"That's...it's..." she stammered, trying to find a word that summed up what it was. In the end, she came up with a pathetic result. "That's unfair, it shouldn't have happened," she said, knowing that the words were useless to him. Of course it was unfair, of course it shouldn't have happened! Why couldn't she have said something more substantial? "You didn't deserve that, Remus."

"No-one ever does."

"But especially not you," she replied without hesitating, "It wasn't fair, it shouldn't have happened," she repeated.

"It did though," he replied, but not bitterly this time.

"Isn't there a cure?" she asked, feeling suddenly very ignorant.

"Wolfsbane limits the effect of the full moon on my kind, but it's in short supply" he explained gently but she still felt herself flinch at the way he referred to himself; suddenly his closed personality and lack of self-esteem made sense. "But no, there's no known cure; not that my parents haven't tried to find one."

"Maybe one day, though," she replied, trying to be positive.

"I doubt it," he said frankly, "but my father just won't stop trying. My mother on the other hand has fallen down a slippery slope from ambivalence to indifference. Now though, I think cold and ashamed of her only son is a more apt description." There was a silence for a moment before he said, "I know you won't want to be with me now. I know I could have kept it from you so that I could just have more time with you, but I thought it through non-stop over the Christmas break – in actually fact, you never left my mind – but I decided there was no way I could lie to you. I can never be with anyone, I'm too dangerous to them and no-one will ever employ me once I leave school; I'll be poor. And I suppose it's for the best; I know there's only two years difference, but no doubt your parents would have thought I'd be too old for you."

He looked at her in silence for a while longer and then made as if to walk away but before he could, she placed her hand to his cheek (having taken her glove off a moment before) and rested her fingers on his cheek, the way he had done with the surface of the lake and the chill of his skin contrasted sharply with the fading warmth trying to wrap itself around her fingertips. She had decided. She'd waited a year for Remus Lupin to notice her shameless flirting, she was clinging to the glowing embers of a relationship and she wasn't about to let them turn to ash.

"Remus..."

"Yes?"

"I don't care."

At a painstaking pace he raised his face, until his eyes met hers. He looked at her intently for just a moment.

"You don't mean that."

"Of course I do," she said softly, lowering her hand to his shoulder, allowing it to skim his jaw as it fell.

"You haven't had enough time to think about this!" he protested, "there's barely been enough time for the information to sink in. Nymphadora, I'm too dangerous for you. I'm not good enough; I'll...never...be...enough," he choked and she could see the emotion behind his eyes; the silent wish that things could change. But they could not and they would not change and in that moment Tonks decided that it wasn't about changing things that couldn't be affected. It was about making the best of what you had and she told him so.

"But..." he began but she cut him off.

"No!" she cried, "no buts. I mean it: you have to do the best with what you have in life and you're all I want, please believe me, I'll never do what Narcissa did," she said and he dipped his head for a brief moment, a motion he seemed to use to regain some vestiges of control over his emotions.

"She had every right to," he began and Tonks opened her mouth to argue. Instead, he raised his hand to indicate he needed silence. For a moment he just stood there, evidently battling with his emotions and morals, but then he said, "And I'm glad she left me. Because if she hadn't, I might never have asked you to the Yule Ball, and I would have missed out on the greatest opportunity of my life," he finished; his voice a low, calm murmur.

He dipped his head again, but this time it was to capture her lips with him own and it took her by surprise. She paused for a moment but then responded, leaning into the kiss and curling her arms around him to draw warmth from his body as a fresh flurry of snow began to fall, snowflakes skittered down and landed on them; in their hair and on their bodies and their lips, the tiny pieces melting immediately and when one landed on Tonks' nose, Remus wasted no time in kissing it away.

***  
They had agreed to stay outside for a while as Remus had originally brought out a soft blanket for them to sit on before Tonks' cousins had found her. He had cast a few clever charms that Tonks didn't even know existed, one of them creating a small dome around them which seemed to fend off the snow. He had also conjured some Bluebell Flames to dot around them and, for a snow scene, Tonks was surprisingly toasty and warm. He had his arm draped loosely around her but there was a slight nervousness surrounding the gesture. She stared up into a pair of eyes that burned like molten gold and thought about what to say. She had a hundred burning questions but she knew now was not the time to blurt out stupid, insensitive questions. She had opened her mouth a few times, thinking she had successfully phrased something right, but changed her mind at the last minute and had closed it again with a snap.

"You can ask questions you know," he said in an amused tone, "I know that it's an issue that has a good few questions attached to it and, believe it or not, I have answered questions about it before. I bet you a sickle you won't ask the most insensitive, stupid or crude question I've ever heard," he said as he stretched his back and arms slightly, causing the arm around her shoulder to tighten briefly for a second.

"Well..." she began gingerly. Now she could ask any question she wanted she felt out of her depth and had no idea where to start, so decided to voice this problem.

"Well, what's one of the first questions people usually ask about being a Metamorphmagus?" he asked helpfully.

"Usually, it's just 'what's it like?'" she said,

"Yeah, that's the same for me," he agreed.

"But you don't have to answer that one, I mean, I know it's difficult to explain,"

"It's okay, I've rehearsed this question since I was five years old. I've always wanted to get the order of the words just right and convey my feelings in the perfect way – it stops being a challenge after a while," he replied accommodatingly.

"If you're sure," she murmured more as a gesture than anything else; she knew he wouldn't agree to tell her if he wasn't happy to. Or, more accurately, as happy as he could be under the circumstances. She shifted a little closer to the lilac-blue flames and felt their tongue like tendrils licking the side of her arm, causing an indescribable feeling of warmth and calm to spread through her.

"Well, I s'pose I'm just me for every other day of the month," he began tentatively, "and when I really think about it, I can see that, but it just doesn't feel like it most days because even when the moon's not full it still affects me and how I act around people and, although I'm aware of it, I can't stop it," he paused, evidently done for a moment. Or maybe he was expecting the question that had sprung to her mind.

"How does it affect you?"

"Well, it just effects how I act," he said vaguely and seemed to realise the statement's unhelpfulness as he let out a small puff of air out his nose, "I think it slightly psychological because it depends on when I feel most...human," he muttered and she could see from the look in her eyes just how difficult it was for him to lay himself bare in the way he was. It struck that it must take a great deal of trust and the notion made her feel a selfish jab of pride that he was confiding in her.

"Right after the full moon and up to the new moon I think I'm a lot calmer and, I suppose...affectionate...would be the correct word to use here, whereas I get a lot moodier and snappier when the full moon's approaching, although I do try to hide it, it's not fair on the others if I take it out on them," he said reasonably and Tonks felt the utmost respect for him.

"I hope they appreciate that!"

"Oh they never say it, but they do, Sirius does always thank me for not taking my 'PMT' out on him every month," he said with a playful glint in those captivating eyes. Tonks let out a small snort of laughter at Sirius' attempt at humour.

"I assure you it was funny the first time he said it,"

"Wears a bit thin, does it?"

"That's one way of putting it," he said with a grin. "Anything else?"

"Well, does it...you know...hurt?" she queried, feeling awkward as the words came out of her mouth.

"Yes, exceptionally so," he said frankly. "The Wolfsbane takes the edge off a bit but yes, it does hurt. You see, to be a Metamorphmagus and an Animagus is to change your body structure voluntarily, but werewolves don't get the choice – their bodies are forced into a transformation at the whim of the moon,"

"Oh...yeah..." she tried, "that makes sense, I guess."

They sat in restful silence for a while before comfortably discussing other issues surrounding werewolves and Metamorphmagi – in reality, the two weren't exactly all that polarised.

She closed her eyes as she felt him rest his chin on her shoulder, burying his face into the crook of her neck. He mumbled a few inaudible words before peppering a few kisses on the skin of her neck and shoulder, nudging her jumper aside. She bit her bottom lip gently and questioned what he said.

"Firstly I said 'I'm glad your cousins didn't split us up' and then I said 'thank-you'," he answered before resting his head on her shoulder again.

"What for?" she asked, baffled.

"For giving me a chance," he replied, before placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

**

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A/N: You guys know my drill by now, please review as there's only one last post after this. Once again, here's my standard mention thanks to everyone who's reviewed: 'adamjamjar', 'purplerawr', 'doralupin86', 'NIA – Name isn't Arria' and 'Angel-of-Vampires', you guys rock =D!


	6. Epilogue

**A/N: Right well here's the last one guys, I hope you enjoy it and please leave a review to tell me what you thought about this fiction as a whole.**

Disclaimer: I'm unfortunately not J.K. Rowling and seeing as anything recognizable from the HP world belongs to her, I make nothing from writing this fanfiction.

_Part VI --- Epilogue_

"We'll be there soon!" squeaked Peter excitedly as he peered out the window.

"I can't wait," Lily Evans replied happily, from where she was curled on her seat; folded neatly into the corner of the compartment with James sitting beside her.

"You will write as soon as you can, won't you?" Tonks whispered quietly, peering up into the face of her boyfriend of almost seven months – Remus Lupin. They were curled together on the opposite side of the compartment to Lily. Remus' arm was wound around her shoulders and she was sitting with her side pressed into his chest. His chin had been resting on the top of her head a moment previously and she heard him give a low moan of protest when she moved.

"I'll send a letter as soon as I get home, telling you if you can come and stay this summer," he whispered back and kissed her subtly on the lips.

"Oh for Merlin's sake!" cried Sirius who had not failed to both hear and see them and was sitting on the same seat as them but had pressed himself as far away as was humanly possible and had peered out of the window moodily for the whole journey home on the Hogwarts' Express. "Could someone pass me a bucket, I think I'm going to be sick!" he cried exasperatedly. Needless to say, things had _not_ worked out between him and Célestine.

"Oh leave them alone, Sirius!" Lily replied sharply, "I think it's nice that Remus likes being with Tonks. I wish _other_ people would follow his example," she said pointedly and James looked at her,

"What? We hold hands," he cried, holding the body part in question up in defence,

"Yes but that's about as much affection as you show in public!"

"Well I'm a private sort of person!" he cried but shuffled noticeably closer to her. Tonks enjoyed watching their love-hate relationship. It was endearing, but all the same, she was glad that she and Remus were totally different.

"Well might I just remind you, Lily, that Tonks is my _cousin_," Sirius cut in with a pointed glare at Remus.

"Urm, Sirius, mate, it didn't seem to matter when it was Narcissa," James pointed out,

"Yeah but I actually like Tonks! Andromeda's my favourite aunt!" he shot back defensively, "and besides, Remus wasn't so publicly lovey-dovey, touchy-feely with Narcissa, so it was bearable!"

"Aw! That's sweet!" Lily exclaimed and Sirius and James both grimaced a little. "Maybe that means that this time it's the real thing!"

"Maybe it does," Remus muttered, smiling at Tonks and kissing her again.

"Oh please!" Sirius interjected and pretended to retch.

"Oh Sirius, just shut up!" shouted Lily, "Ignore him, you two. He's just jealous because two people here are still single – and he's one of them (no offence Peter)!" she finished triumphantly (if a little apologetically) and Tonks thought she'd made a pretty fair assessment, but her cousin's jibes didn't bother her; most days she laughed along and on the days she didn't she just ignored them. Sirius sat forward on the seat and opened his mouth but before some kind of physical fight could ensue the train began slowing down and Peter shouted,

"We're here now!"

"Yeah, so cut it out you two!" James added darkly but ruffled Lily's auburn hair playfully and affectionately. For all their arguments, it was true love if ever Tonks saw it and things might get even better for them now that Lily would no longer be around Severus Snape.

The pair were the first to leave the compartment once the train had fully stopped with Sirius directly behind and Peter hurrying after, trying to keep up. Tonks and Remus strolled out together, with Remus carrying both his trunk and Tonks'. She followed him, protesting all the way.

"N'dora, I don't mind! I know you're perfectly capable of carrying it but like doing things like this for you, it makes me feel like a proper boyfriend," he said, but whispered the latter part of the sentence so quietly she could barely hear it. Even if he hadn't insisted on putting himself down she had already stopped complaining; his use of the nickname 'N'dora' (one that he had come up with, although he frequently called her Dora – he point blank refused to call her Tonks; he had always avoided doing so where possible), stopping her in her tracks: it always did, and he knew it.

"You _are_ a proper boyfriend," she answered, "the best," she corrected and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'd better go and get a trolley, go find your parents and I'll meet you," he instructed lightly,

"How will you even find me?" she asked doubtfully, looking at the swarms of people.

"I'll look for a shock of pink in a sea of normal, drab colours," he teased playfully, kissing and nuzzling the hair he spoke of and dodging a light punch she sent in his direction. "C'mon, we're holding everyone up!"

"Okay, see you in a sec," she muttered as she walked off, searching uselessly for her parents.

"Dora!" a voice called and it was a shock to hear someone who wasn't Remus use the name. She hurried over and hugged her parents unashamedly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the rest of the Black family, with Sirius slouching moodily next to Narcissa and Bellatrix who were introducing Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus Lestrange as she would soon be doing with Remus. Beside them all, Tonks recognized Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother, who was in her year at school.

"It's good to see you dear," her mother said and she said the same to her parents.

"Mum, before we chat all about school I quickly need to tell you something," she interjected as her mum opened her mouth to ask the usual preliminary questions about the past term.

"What is it, dear?"

"Well..." Tonks knew this was going to be awkward, especially with her dad. She hoped her mum would help her out a bit, "you know Remus Lupin?"

"Oh, Sirius' friend? The nice, quiet one?"

"Yeah that's him," Tonks said, glad that her mum at least had a good impression of Remus already. "Well, he sort of asked me to the Yule Ball this year," she said,

"Really? You didn't mention it over Christmas," her mother replied with the first vestiges of suspicion in her voice.

"No, well I didn't get a chance to speak to him after the Ball, so I didn't really know where the land lied. But now...well..." this was the point where she began to act like a fish out of water and simply hoped her mother could throw her back into the sea again.

"Now...he's..." her mum began and upon noticing the look on Ted Tonks' face, said, "your boyfriend?"

"Yeah," she answered shyly. "And, well, he's going to come over in a minute, I think he has something to say, so please just...be nice."

Ted opened his mouth to speak but Remus mercifully appeared at that moment, looking slightly battered as he wheeled the uncooperative trolley in their direction.

"Ah, hello Remus, had a good year?" Andromeda said pleasantly; she knew Sirius' friends better than Ted.

"Hello Mrs. Tonks, Mr. Tonks. Yes, very much so thanks and yourselves?" he replied politely and Tonks found herself disbelieving of his ability to remain calm and courteous in these kind of situations, even if he had met her parents before, Tonks was pretty sure her dad had never bestowed his famous fatherly death stare on Remus prior to this moment; the look was strong enough to shatter bones.

"Oh, just the usual!" her mum answered.

"That's good," he smiled, "I'm sorry, but I can't stay all that long as I have to go and find my parents, but I just wanted to ask you personally if Nymphadora would be able to come and stay at my house at some point this summer. It would be the two of us, my cousin – who is friends with Nymphadora – my friends Sirius, Peter and James and James' girlfriend Lily," he said, covering all points of question but failing to mention, on Tonks' advice, that the date he would be suggesting for Tonks to arrive would be a good half a week or more before the others; just for privacy (or, more accurately, privacy from Sirius).

Her mother obviously felt slightly pressured to come up with an answer straightaway,

"Well, I can't see a problem with it, but I'd really like to know definite dates and the suchlike," she began jerkily,

"Oh, naturally," Remus answered politely, "I'll send an owl to Nymphadora as soon as I find out the exact dates but I just thought it would be best if I asked you in person, more polite I thought,"

"Yes, yes it was," Ted said, clearing his throat importantly, "would you mind if I had a quick word with you in private Remus?" he asked and Tonks felt her heart plummet. Remus nodded and Tonks pleaded with her father to be nice, beseeching wordlessly with her eyes.

The two moved off slightly and Tonks, despite straining her ears, could not hear anything that was being said. She watched anxiously for any signs of a change in body language and felt her mum's hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry, your dad won't say anything that doesn't need to be said, he's just looking out for you; he finds it hard watching his only daughter grow up and I don't think he's quite accepted that his little girl has started dating. Just give him time," she said gently and tried to distract her daughter with talk of the past term, how long she had been dating Remus for and, of course, her OWL examinations. Soon the pair arrived back with unreadable faces.

"Well that's all sorted, so perhaps you'd quickly like to go and introduce yourself to Remus' parents before we go, Dora," her father said slightly more importantly than was befitting, but she guessed that his words had to be a good sign. They left her trunk behind wheeled Remus' over to where he said he'd seen his parents.

"What did he say?" she demanded as soon as they were out of earshot,

"Ah. Couldn't possibly tell you that. Secret man-stuff I'm afraid," he said with an infuriatingly smug grin, "needless to say there were all the protective father questions which I seemed to have passed with flying colours. There may have been a few other things to discuss, but we agreed not to mention them,"

"So do I need to keep internally cringing?"

"Yes, naturally. He told all the horrifyingly embarrassing childhood stories he could fit into a serious, five minute train-station conversation," he said in a dead-pan voice,

"Alright smart-arse, no need to get full of yourself!" she replied teasingly.

Remus appeared to have found his family and led her over to a group of people, one of who noticed them straightaway and walked briskly over, smiling proudly,

"My father," Remus murmured, slightly unnecessarily.

"Remus!" he exclaimed as soon as they were within earshot. By this time, the unnatural numbers of people that startled Muggles every year had somewhat dispersed. The greeted each other informally; a brief typically male embrace. "How are you, lad?"

"Fine thanks, dad," he replied and they exchanged a few words, Tonks taking in John Lupin's appearance as they did so. He was of average height and build, only slightly beneath his taller and leaner son. His greying hair retained vestiges of the dark blonde colour Remus had inherited, although his eyes were a sparkling blue and not the brown-y gold Tonks had become accustomed to staring into. Other than that, Remus was very much his father's son; they shared the same shaped lips, thin nose and raised cheekbones. True, Remus possessed a slightly refined delicacy look his rugged, boyish father did not, but they were very much father and son. In personality she was just as he had imagined he would be; friendly and accommodating with an outgoing, genuine nature.

"And who might this fine young woman be, Remus?" he asked jovially, his blue eyes sparkling.

"This is Nymphadora Tonks, I had the privilege of taking her to the Yule Ball but I've been stuck with her ever since," Remus replied with a smile and Tonks rolled her eyes at him. She took John Lupin's proffered hand and shook it firmly,

"Please call me Tonks," she said, not out of politeness; it had come out more as a type of pleading,

"Surely you don't insist on being known by your surname?" he asked, "Nymphadora is a perfectly fine name," he asked and she almost could have believed him; his was one of the most convincing assurances she'd heard in a long time.

"Well some people call me Dora, but mostly just my dad and Remus," she tried,

"That sounds much better," he smiled. "Ah, here's my wife, Claire," he introduced as a small, frail looking witch approached. She had short blonde hair, lighter than that of her husband and son's and her pale features were pinched and possessed a slightly distant look. Nonetheless, in her Tonks found Remus' elegance; the feature she had been looking for. She had also passed her eyes on to her only son; they were an identical colour and shape.

"Remus," she said briskly and unsmilingly and, when he went to kiss her affectionately, turned her head so that her son's lips barely grazed her cheek. Tonks' eyes darted from face to face and saw mixed reactions. Remus' face fell in a way that made her stomach lurch and John's tightened as if he were trying to repress a familiar stab of anger, his eyes blazed with regret. Tonks wondered what she could have missed.

"Good year mother?" Remus asked. His voice was strained.

"Not bad thank-you," she answered brusquely. There was an uneasy silence.

"Claire, this is Dora," John said and gave her an expectant look. "Remus' _girlfriend_," he hissed and Tonks did not miss the badly concealed look of shock on Claire's face.

Remus tried and she nodded vaguely as if she was looking at someone else or was living in a different universe.

"Yes well, we'll see. If that's _really_ what she wants to do and her parents are happy to let her then there's no reason for her not to," she said, sniffing in the disdainful way Remus sometimes did; but she entirely lacked his charm and what exactly she was sniffing disdainfully at, Tonks didn't know.

"Thanks mother," Remus replied, although he didn't sound too grateful. Turning back to his dad, he said, "well, N'dora and her parents most probably need to make a most so I'll just say bye properly, if that's okay,"

"Okay, of course son," John replied and Tonks suspected his large grin and bountiful enthusiasm had a lot to do with making up for Claire's coldness. "It was lovely to meet you Dora, I hope to see you soon!"

"Thanks, same to you," she replied honestly, beaming unashamedly; it looked as if she had managed to make a good first impression and that delighted her no end. "Same to you also, Mrs. Lupin," she added as a hasty afterthought. Claire Lupin gave a thin-lipped smile as a response and watched as the two stepped a generous few paces away. They stood in silence for a second and Tonks could think of nothing to say, so braced herself and hoped her attempt at comedy would suffice.

"Well, this is awkward," she said...well, awkwardly. Remus gave a small snort.

"She doesn't believe anyone would want to go out with me in full knowledge of my lycanthropy. I bet you a million Galleons the first thing she says when I get back is 'and have you bothered to tell the poor girl about your _condition_, Remus?'" he imitated, in what was a fair impression of his mother's tone. "She thinks that everyone feels the same about my kind as she does, but I'm glad to say I've found out that that's just not true," he whispered as his pained features returned to their normal delicate scaffolding and he brushed an affectionate kiss to her cheek. She pulled him into a tight hug, feeling her chest tighten as the obvious conclusion hit her hard – of course that was the reason behind Claire's attitude.

"It's not true," she said forcefully, her head against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat thudding comfortingly under her ear.

"If anyone but you said that, I wouldn't believe them, you know," he said, his arms curled around her. "She wasn't always like that, before the bite I remember she was just as caring, loving and affectionate as any other mum. I suppose we can't be surprised by the effect it had, she did admit once that she blames herself for the bite. Every year when I get home for the summer I find myself hoping something has changed but it never has. It really riles dad up – look he's having a go at the now," Remus said, all with his chin resting on her head. Tonks pulled away a little and, sure enough, she could see, but not hear the two exchanging heated words. "Anyway, as much as I've been dreading this moment I think I'd better head over and stop things getting out of hand," he said, looking sorrowful.

"Ever the mediator," she said with a small, sad smile. He pressed his soft lips to hers and she indulged in kissing him gently and tenderly for as long as her dignity would permit; her parents were most probably watching after all. She broke away first and pressed a sweet kiss on his jaw. He let out a low chuckle, kissed her hair and then said,

"I think we had better stop now, your dad is positively bristling," he said, his tone laced with amusement. They parted with a final, half kiss and tight hug. Tonks walked briskly away before she got too sentimental: then it would feel really final. It wouldn't be too weird if she knew that when she went back to school, he'd be there and things would be just the same. But he wouldn't. He would be out working, living his own, independent life while she was stuck in school wishing she could just Apparate to his house at free will and worse, worrying that he had seen sense and moved on to someone else and then she'd get a letter breaking up with her...and...things were getting ridiculous now.

She began walking away with her parents who were chattering inconsequentially and she couldn't resist one last glance over her shoulder. She was shocked to see him walking a good way behind her his eyes boring into what, one second previously would have been her back. She gave him a nervous half smile and he returned it. She was about to turn away but her attention was caught when his lips began forming three, silent words.

_I love you._

Her heart skipped and her mind soared and she knew they'd be okay – she'd see him this summer and at varying times throughout the year and when she got lonely a letter was only an owl's flight away. Yes, things were going to be just fine; of course they were.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's the end =) I hope you've all enjoyed reading this as much as I've loved writing it.**

**I'm thinking of a oneshot sequel: Remus and Tonks at his place during the summer or maybe a meet-up during a Hogsmeade weekend after a particularly long absence. What do you guys think? Is it worth a try? As usual, please make my day and leave a comment. And no mentions this chapter, just a massive, capitalised THANKS to anyone who's read and reviewed this and particularly those who have taken the time to review every chapter, you guys rock!**


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